Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="rounser" data-source="post: 5374279" data-attributes="member: 1106">I'll go out on a limb here and say that specifically it's splatbooks offering PC ability powerups that kill editions.BECMI is unbalanced by the weapon mastery optional rules.&nbsp; Weapon masters can flatten encounters that would challenge a party not using the rules.1E is unbalanced by Unearthed Arcana, because Players Handbook classes are clearly underpowered compared to them.2E is unbalanced by the Complete series (specifically kits), and nailed by Players Option.&nbsp; Kits started a sort of min/max arms race among players.3E is unbalanced by prestige classes and weird new classes, power crawled new feats, new weapons etc. unbalanced with the old.&nbsp; Min/max arms race becomes comical.4E has the suggestion that &quot;everything is core&quot;, which given the history of the game is a bit of a scream.&nbsp; Planned obsolescence much?It relates back to the idea of RPG screentime - a broken player's power gets heaps of screentime, a broken monster very little.&nbsp; Although a TPK is possible with the broken monster or bad situational rule, it's less likely to break the campaign and complicate things to a degree which affects people's willingness to play the edition at all (perhaps with the exception of 3E's grapple and AoO rules).It also makes creating NPCs much more of a time-consuming headache, if they're to use the same character creation rules as the PCs, putting off DMs.So, my theory is that if you keep player powers in check by turfing toxic splatbook sludge entirely, or vetting it thoroughly, you can get off the edition treadmill entirely.&nbsp; Easier said than done, because min/maxing is one of the draws of the game, but IMO the best campaigns have this as a side attraction, not the main event.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="rounser, post: 5374279, member: 1106"] I'll go out on a limb here and say that specifically it's splatbooks offering PC ability powerups that kill editions. BECMI is unbalanced by the weapon mastery optional rules. Weapon masters can flatten encounters that would challenge a party not using the rules. 1E is unbalanced by Unearthed Arcana, because Players Handbook classes are clearly underpowered compared to them. 2E is unbalanced by the Complete series (specifically kits), and nailed by Players Option. Kits started a sort of min/max arms race among players. 3E is unbalanced by prestige classes and weird new classes, power crawled new feats, new weapons etc. unbalanced with the old. Min/max arms race becomes comical. 4E has the suggestion that "everything is core", which given the history of the game is a bit of a scream. Planned obsolescence much? It relates back to the idea of RPG screentime - a broken player's power gets heaps of screentime, a broken monster very little. Although a TPK is possible with the broken monster or bad situational rule, it's less likely to break the campaign and complicate things to a degree which affects people's willingness to play the edition at all (perhaps with the exception of 3E's grapple and AoO rules). It also makes creating NPCs much more of a time-consuming headache, if they're to use the same character creation rules as the PCs, putting off DMs. So, my theory is that if you keep player powers in check by turfing toxic splatbook sludge entirely, or vetting it thoroughly, you can get off the edition treadmill entirely. Easier said than done, because min/maxing is one of the draws of the game, but IMO the best campaigns have this as a side attraction, not the main event. [/QUOTE]

Verification